Redemption
by ZoZo1770
Summary: <html><head></head>Siegfried has nothing left to live for. Hilde, however, thinks otherwise. Oneshot based on Hilde's Soul Calibur IV ending, with a bit of dialogue from the game.</html>


Summary: Siegfried has nothing left to live for. Hilde, however, thinks otherwise. Oneshot based on the Soul Calibur IV ending, with a bit of dialogue from the games.

Siegfried stood trembling in the clearing in the forest. His heart was beating wildly, threatening to burst out of his chest. His breathing was shallow, and he could hear his blood as it raced around his aching body.

Why had he allowed himself to live? He had nothing left. Never would he forgive himself for what he did that fateful day.

_He stood proudly in the middle of the battlefield. The enemy was dead. Triumphant, he held the head of the captain up for all to see, smiling proudly. Cheers were erupting from the gang around him. He looked through the gap in the helmet, into the wide eyes of the slain captain, but as the moon came out from behind the clouds and lit up those lifeless eyes, he suddenly realised exactly who he had just killed._

_His heart stopped._

_Dropping the head, he ran. He did not notice the confused looks on his fellow warriors' faces, wondering why he had reacted in that way. He did not hear them as they called his name, shouting for him to come back. He just continued running as fast as his strong legs would carry him. He wanted to get away from it all, away from the battlefield. He wished this was just a dream. Yes, that was what it was, just a dream, no, a nightmare, and he was going to wake up any second now, and none of this would be real, and –_

_No. It _was _real. There was no escape from the fact that he had just slain the most important person in his life._

_Wait, _was_ it real? He didn't just commit a murder, did he? No, it can't have been him. He did not just murder his – he would never, _ever_, kill his… it had to be someone else. Yes, of course! He did not do it – he did not do it – he can't have done it! It was someone else! Someone else had slain his - his inspiration, his shoulder to cry on, his best friend, his guardian. Somebody irreplaceable._

_His own father._

Siegfried looked up at the darkening sky.

'I'm sorry, Father,' he whispered.

He slowly removed his gauntlets, spaulders and breastplate, leaving him in his thin chainmail. He held Soul Calibur in both hands, and placed the tip a few inches from his chest. He had to end it all. He closed his eyes, and went to pierce his chest with the blade.

'NO!'

Siegfried's eyes snapped open, and he dropped the blade which had been only a few centimetres from his chest. He turned around slowly, annoyed at the interruption.

He saw a young woman covered almost completely in shining silver armour, except for her head. She held her helmet in one hand, and her staff in the other, and upon seeing Siegfried, dropped them both. She had long, bright red hair, and big, brown eyes, and Siegfried recognised her immediately. Hilde.

She ran to him, her eyes wide, stopping less than a foot away from him.

'What were you –?' She asked, looking from Siegfried to Soul Calibur, and then back to Siegfried. 'Don't tell me you were about to – '

'I have to,' he interrupted. His blue eyes met her brown ones.

'No… no you don't. Listen to me…'

'No, _you _listen to _me_,' he said coldly, all the colour draining from his face. 'I have nothing left. I brutally killed my father, I became the host for Soul Edge. Every man and woman I have met has ultimately fallen to death's touch… that doesn't have to happen.'

'Siegfried…' Hilde sighed.

'Hilde, don't try to stop me. Believe me, I've tried everything to escape from it all, but each day it keeps coming back. Everyone, every_thing_, somehow reminds me of the fact that I, in my foolishness, slew my own father. I cannot rid myself of my sins, Hilde! I can hardly forgive myself – '

He broke off, trying to find the right words.

'I thought had it all,' he continued, 'But I was young, arrogant and foolish. At that moment, when I saw my father's eyes through his helmet, I…'

His voice trailed away. He couldn't carry on.

'You don't understand,' he muttered, 'and you never will. It's… better… this way.'

He felt his eyes stinging with tears. Embarrassed, he looked away.

'So you think that killing yourself is going to make up for everything?' Hilde asked, incredulously. 'You think that it will bring your father back? Because it won't. The Azure Night is still out there, and you're the only one who can defeat him. He's after souls, Siegfried. By killing yourself, you're only going to make things worse. You'll put everyone else in danger. He won't have to worry about you. You'll have as good as succumbed to him. What good will that do? And besides… I…'

She suddenly stopped, as though she had said too much. Siegfried, however, did not seem to notice, or care.

'Fine,' he spat, looking back at her, '_you_ do it.'

'_What?_'

He dropped to his knees in front of her.

'Hilde…' he whispered, gazing desperately into her wide brown eyes, which were now brimming with tears. 'Just end it. End it all. I just… I can't take it anymore! I… It's better for everyone if I were dead. I should never have even been born…'

Hilde looked at him, half-sadly, half-angrily. 'Don't talk like that!' she said, 'you've come this far. People need you! They're fearing for their lives, and you're the only one who can put them out of danger. Just think about this… '

'Hilde… you don't know what I've done!' he murmured in anguish, 'I've killed hundreds – thousands – ever since I – I… at that moment, when I realised who I had slain, I – I just – I ran. I ran away, into the forest, thinking about what I had just done, not believing, refusing to believe that I had just killed my father. Within a few seconds, my mind had broken. As I ran – to where, I did not know – I was becoming more and more… insane! So much so, that I convinced myself that I was not the killer – that someone else had killed him! My mind had completely gone…'

He paused, trying not to break down in front of Hilde.

'After hearing rumours about Soul Edge,' he continued, 'I came to believe that that was the only weapon which could destroy my father's killer… when I still refused to believe that deep down, I was responsible for my father's death, not anybody else. When at last I claimed Soul Edge, it slowly began to take over my body, and I eventually succumbed to its powers, transforming into the Azure Knight – Nightmare. I had no control, Hilde! I was not allowed to care about who I murdered, because it wasn't up to me, it was up to Soul Edge. I saw everything, every single death, from that cursed sword's point of view. Anybody who stood in my way ended up dead! I managed to escape Nightmare and regain my sanity, but I still could not escape from the truth. I had to accept that _I _killed my father. And now…'

He went quiet. Hilde was gazing at him intently. After a while, she spoke.

'Siegfried,' she said quietly, 'I… I know I can't possibly begin to imagine how – how difficult it's been, but… let me join you. Let me help you, please – '

'No!' Siegfried interrupted, impatiently, 'I don't want anyone else to get hurt on my account. Especially not you. And there's no other option.'

He could hear Nightmare's voice in his head: _You will never run away from your sin! You have no right to live! It is a sin for you to be alive_!

'I can never be redeemed of my sins – Nightmare was right… it is a sin for me to be alive.'

'No, _no_, it's not! Don't start agreeing with Nightmare of all people, Siegfried! He is nothing, _nothing_! His opinion is _worthless_! Just think about things! I can't – don't ask me to… '

'Just do it,' he beseeched. He could not stand her seeing him like this, so desperate, so broken, begging her to end his life. But he had no choice. 'Please, Hilde…'

Hilde drew her sword slowly.

Siegfried bowed his head. Finally, he would be rid of his sins. He would be gone. He was ready to die. He closed his eyes, waiting for the impact.

But it never came.

He felt the tip of Hilde's sword touch the top of his head, and he heard her speak.

'True warriors,' she said slowly, her voice shaking a little, 'think not of themselves, but of others. You have sacrificed everything to atone for your sins, and demonstrated true valour. That is why I, Hildegard von Krone, declare that you, Siegfried Schtauffen, are forgiven for your sins.'

Siegfried looked up at her, hardly believing what he had just heard. She smiled down at him, and he got up slowly. He had been… forgiven! After what he had just told Hilde, he was sure that she would want nothing to do with him anymore. He was positive that she would kill him on the spot without hesitation. His icy blue eyes met Hilde's warm, kind, brown ones.

'I… Hilde… I am _forgiven_?' he said quietly, looking at her, 'but I – I've done terrible things – things that I thought… could never be forgiven… by anyone…'

'It's all in the past now,' she replied, slowly reaching up to stroke Siegfried's long, blonde hair. 'Yes, your father died at your hand, there is no denying that… but when you found Soul Edge – and it possessed you – you… you weren't to know. You sought a way to… free yourself from your past, thinking that Soul Edge held the answer… live for the future, Siegfried! What's done is done.'

Suddenly, without warning, she reached up and claimed Siegfried's lips with her own. Siegfried was startled slightly, but soon began to kiss her back passionately, running his hands up and down her back.

Hilde. Now Siegfried definitely had something to live for.


End file.
